Robert W. Paul
Robert William Paul (3 October 1869 – 28 March 1943) was an English pioneer of film and scientific instrument maker. He made narrative films as early as April 1895. Those films were shown first in Edison Kinescope knockoffs. In 1896 he showed them projected. That was about the time the Lumière brothers were pioneering projected films in France. His first notably successful scientic device was his Unipivot galvanometer. In 1999 the British film industry erected a commemorative plaque on his building at 44 Hatton Garden, London.
Tommy Atkins in the Park (1898)
A soldier and a serving-girl are courting on a bench. A fat old lady sits on the bench, interrupting them. (more)
A soldier and a serving-girl are courting on a bench. A fat old lady sits on the bench, interrupting them. (more)
A Chess Dispute (1903)
A stationary camera looks on as two dapper gents play a game of chess. One drinks and smokes, and when he looks away, his opponent moves two pieces. A fight ensues, first with the squirting of a seltzer bottle, then with fisticuffs. The combatants wrestle each ... (more)
A stationary camera looks on as two dapper gents play a game of chess. One drinks and smokes, and when he looks away, his opponent moves two pieces. A fight ensues, first with the squirting of a seltzer bottle, then with fisticuffs. The combatants wrestle each ... (more)
A Switchback Railway (1898)
The Switchback Railway was the forerunner of the roller coaster. Passengers sit in a small car which trundles up a swooping railway track then performs a 180 degree turn at its summit before swooping back down on a parallel track. (more)
The Switchback Railway was the forerunner of the roller coaster. Passengers sit in a small car which trundles up a swooping railway track then performs a 180 degree turn at its summit before swooping back down on a parallel track. (more)
Comic Costume Race (1896)
Three athletes make their way to wicker baskets that contain a mishmash of wacky costumes. They need to dress up as quickly as they can, and make their way back on the running track. (more)
Three athletes make their way to wicker baskets that contain a mishmash of wacky costumes. They need to dress up as quickly as they can, and make their way back on the running track. (more)
Robbery (1897)
A robber forces a luckless stroller in the park to remove his hat, coat, waistcoat and trousers. (more)
A robber forces a luckless stroller in the park to remove his hat, coat, waistcoat and trousers. (more)
The Arrest of a Bookmaker (1895)
A man strolling in a city street is attacked by three assailants. A policeman comes to the rescue and the men struggle with each other. (more)
A man strolling in a city street is attacked by three assailants. A policeman comes to the rescue and the men struggle with each other. (more)
Come Along, Do! (1898)
Come Along, Do! is an 1898 British short silent comedy film, produced and directed by Robert W. Paul. The film was of 1 minute duration, but only forty-some seconds have survived. The whole of the second shot is only available as film stills. The film features an ... (more)
Come Along, Do! is an 1898 British short silent comedy film, produced and directed by Robert W. Paul. The film was of 1 minute duration, but only forty-some seconds have survived. The whole of the second shot is only available as film stills. The film features an ... (more)
The Unfortunate Policeman (1905)
The Countryman and the Cinematograph (1901)
A satire on the way that audiences unaccustomed to the cinema didn't know how to react to the moving images on a screen - in this film, an unsophisticated (and stereotypical) country yokel is alternately baffled and terrified, in the latter case by the apparent ... (more)
A satire on the way that audiences unaccustomed to the cinema didn't know how to react to the moving images on a screen - in this film, an unsophisticated (and stereotypical) country yokel is alternately baffled and terrified, in the latter case by the apparent ... (more)
Blackfriars Bridge (1896)
Top-hatted pedestrians and horse-drawn traffic pass over Blackfriars Bridge in London. (more)
Top-hatted pedestrians and horse-drawn traffic pass over Blackfriars Bridge in London. (more)
An Extraordinary Cab Accident (1903)
A man and a woman talk beside a street near a corner where a cop stands. Just as a horse-drawn cart rounds the corner, the man backs off the sidewalk saying good-by to his companion. The horse and cart flatten him and continue on, out of the camera's stationary ... (more)
A man and a woman talk beside a street near a corner where a cop stands. Just as a horse-drawn cart rounds the corner, the man backs off the sidewalk saying good-by to his companion. The horse and cart flatten him and continue on, out of the camera's stationary ... (more)
Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee (1897)
A series of actuality films showing the procession to mark Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee. (more)
A series of actuality films showing the procession to mark Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee. (more)
